Printed Wiring Board Partnership

What Is a PWB?

PWBs, or printed circuit
boards (PCBs), provide the physical structure for mounting and
holding electronic components, as well as providing the electrical
interconnection between the components. PWBs are the foundation
for virtually all of the world's electronics.

The DfE Printed Wiring Board (PWB) Partnership encouraged the use
of technologies that improve both environmental performance and
competitiveness of the PWB industry. Traditional methods for manufacturing
PWBs:

Use toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde, that pose potential
health and environmental risks.

Use substantial amounts of water and energy.

Generate large volumes of hazardous waste.

The DfE Program partners, including the national PWB trade association,
have examined alternative technologies that reduce or eliminate
these impacts.

Making Holes Conductive

In its first major study, the project evaluated the health and
environmental risks, performance, and cost of the electroless copper
process and six promising alternative technologies that use direct
metalization. The results showed that the alternatives perform as
well as or better than the baseline technology, are more efficient,
and may pose less risk to workers and the environment. Refer to
Making Holes Conductive Cleaner
Technologies Substitutes Assessment for further discussion of
results.